I'm Coming Home
by Khgirl08
Summary: -sequel to "Come Home"- As Chin fights for his life, it's up to Danny and his newly cobbled together team to pin down Wo Fat once and for all. But as Steve's memories start to return, is he going to work with his ohana-or against them?
1. Catherine 1

A/N: There'll be more at the bottom, but for now just know that this is a sequel to my story "Come Home" and probably won't make much sense unless you've read that one. So if you haven't and you're interested, go to my page and look it up first.

* * *

Catherine Rollins had been waiting for hours to hear about her leave. All of the paperwork she'd been haphazardly neglecting for the past few months had been filled out and filed away, all of her screens had been freshly cleaned, and both pairs of her boots had been polished three times.

She couldn't see her reflection in them, but the bathroom mirror provided a good look at herself. Surprisingly, she looked calm and alert on the outside, like she had just come back from a long rest and had absolutely no drama in her life.

The Navy was good about training people to maintain that face.

It had been her life for so long. When she had first joined intelligence, her life had become one constant cycle. Sit at her station, work for eight hours, work out in the gym, grab a bite to eat, go to bed, wash rinse repeat. The occasional weekend tryst had spiced things up, and one or two semi-serious relationships had broken the monotony to a point. But for the most part, Catherine Rollins had fallen into the pattern of an invisible officer.

Her life had had meaning, certainly. She was saving other lives. She was making her small, if insignificant mark on history. She was living up to her family name.

She was simply not important in the grand scheme of things, and she was content with fading into the background.

Then her path had intersected Steven McGarrett's and her whole world turned on its head.

The motion-activated lights turned off as she stared down her own face, jolting her from self-analysis. She cracked her neck and the lights came back on as she exited the bathroom and returned to her station.

She still had nothing to do. Sleep would have been a good idea, but it eluded her in the wake of anxiety and adrenaline. Besides, she could leave more quickly upon getting leave if she was already in the office to hear the news.

Unfortunately, adrenaline and anxiety weren't enough to stave off the memories that had haunted her every idle moment for months now. She could fidget with her hair and doodle all she liked, but eventually her mind would succumb to the daydreams from hell. It was sometimes easier just to let them take her.

_I am so sorry, I didn't see you._

_Not a problem. Narrow corridors._

_You're Intelligence, right Lieutenant?_

_That's right. And you're a SEAL._

_Now, yes, but I used to be Intel myself. Steven McGarrett._

_Catherine Rollins. I've heard about you before, sir._

_Oh really?_

_Scuttlebutt is you gave up a promising career with us to put on a pair of flippers._

_Hey, don't start on my flippers. I like my flippers._

_Of course, sir._

_Ah, damn, I've got to go. I'll catch up with you later._

_I certainly hope you do. Commander._

"Lieutenant Rollins, what on Earth are you doing here so early?"

Catherine leaped to attention at her CO's voice. "Sir."

"I thought you'd be at home. You aren't on morning crew right now. You shouldn't be here for another hour."

"Yes, sir. No, sir, I'm not, or I shouldn't be. I was just finishing up a few odds and ends." Catherine stared above her commanding officer's head, refusing to meet his eyes while at attention, and he eventually sighed and nodded.

"At ease, sailor. Why exactly did you put in this request for leave?"

"Some friends of mine need help, sir, and I'm in a position to give it. Aside from that, I haven't had substantial leave for years." Her shoulders refused to relax under her CO's stern gaze. The tension that had been boiling just under her Navy-hardened exterior for so long was beginning to seep out now that she was on the precipice of getting to leave or being forced to stay.

Catherine's motivations were far more selfish than she cared to admit to her CO. For that matter, she wasn't keen to admit them to herself, either. As awful as Chin Ho being on death's door was, it was hardly important to her at the moment. The attack on Danny's daughter was a trifling matter to her.

She barely knew them, any of them. Sure, she'd helped them out on cases from time to time, and she'd gone out with them once or twice, but they were mere acquaintances.

Steven McGarrett, on the other hand, was no acquaintance.

The moment Danny had suggested that Steve might be alive, the moment that he had hinted that he might even be on the island, Catherine's entire focus had shrunk to one goal. Find Steve.

Of course, given that she wasn't even supposed to know that Steve McGarrett was in the hands of Wo Fat or that Wo Fat was on the island, she couldn't exactly be forthcoming with the whole of her desire for leave. She continued to stare down her boss, feeling her shoulders become more rigid with every second.

He finally sighed again. "You have three weeks, Lieutenant, with which to help your unnamed friends."

"Thank you, sir!" She nodded deeply and made a beeline for her locker. His next words stopped her in her tracks.

"And if you manage to find Wo Fat, make sure you give him an extra beat down for me. God knows I'd love to be out there helping you." She turned in shock, but her CO was already halfway through the door. Several of her teammates wandered into the room as he left, staring between him and Catherine in confusion.

"Everything okay, Rollins?"

"It's fine. It'll be fine."

* * *

During her last deployment, Catherine's repetitive schedule had begun to alarm the others. They didn't have to tell her; she could tell by the concerned expressions they wore when speaking to her, the worried inflections of their voices.

The repetition helped her to cope. Made everything easier.

Every day, she followed that pattern. Get up. Shower. Bathroom. Brush teeth. Eat breakfast. Sit at computer. Work. Bathroom. Eat lunch. Work. Email Steve. Eat supper. Bathroom. Brush teeth. Bed. Get up. Shower. Bathroom…

Every day, she wrote Steve. When the Enterprise was on radio silence, she still wrote Steve. She sent the emails en masse as soon as communications reopened.

Every day, she hoped that an email with a blue tag would appear in her inbox. On days when it all became too much, she'd check her email every time she had a spare second in between tasks. She'd been reprimanded for it more than once.

Every single day, her heart had broken again.

Every single day, she dreamed of his face.

Every single day, she missed him more.

_Cath?_

_Yeah?_

_I…_

…_?_

_Be careful out there._

_Yes, sir. And Commander?_

_Yeah?_

_Don't forget about our date in Mumbai._

_Never._

He hadn't made the date.

She wasn't sure she'd ever be able to eat Indian food again.

* * *

"Hi, this is Danny's phone. Leave me your name and number and I'll get back to ya ASAP."

"Okay, this stopped being acceptable a couple hours ago. _Call me._"

Resisting the urge to chuck her phone through one of the glass panes in Five-0's office, Catherine turned on her heel and began pacing once more. She checked the time and ground her teeth furiously; she'd been on leave for nearly three hours, and that three hours had been spent in the most useless fashion possible: trying and failing to find her temporary colleagues, let alone actually investigating anything.

"If he doesn't call me back in five minutes, so help me God, my boot is going so far up his-" Her furious muttering was cut off by her phone ringing. "Finally! What the hell, Danny?!"

"Hello?" The soprano voice most certainly did not belong to Danny Williams. "Is this Catherine?"

"Yes…who is this?"

"This is Detective Hu, calling from Honolulu General. You're a friend of Detective Williams?"

"Wait, what?" Catherine stopped pacing and squeezed the bridge of her nose. "Yes, I'm a friend of Danny's. Why is he in the hospital?"

"We aren't sure of the whole story yet; he's been muttering a lot of things, but he managed to get through that he wanted us to call you. Are you able to make it down here?" Hu sounded rather bored by the whole process. Catherine wrinkled her nose in disgust. "We can arrange for a patrol unit to retrieve you if need be."

"No, I'll be there as soon as I can. Thanks." She hung up and took one shaky breath before leaving the glass-encased office.

This three weeks was going to be just as nightmarish as the rest of her recent existence.

* * *

A/N: Howdy ya'll! It's nice to be back. I've definitely missed this story, and now that my life has sort of calmed down I can start back up. Unfortunately, I won't be able to make the same update schedule I had with "Come Home". Expect updates once a week for the timebeing, probably every Wednesday.

I hope the journey through this tale is as fun for all of us as the last one was!


	2. Danny 1

His back was cold.

Back in Hoboken, that wouldn't have been a big deal. New Jersey got cold. He got cold in New Jersey. But the last place Danny remembered being was a warehouse in Hawaii, and it didn't often get cold in Hawaii. That his back should be cold now worried him almost as much as his inability to open his eyes or mouth.

"Detective Williams? Detective, can you hear me?" Someone was speaking to him. The voice made his head throb. His eyelids were still leaden. His back was freezing. Why the hell was he so cold in Hawaii? And why was his head starting to ache so much? "I need you to open your eyes, Detective. Open your eyes."

His eyes still didn't want to open, but his tongue seemed to free up some more as he recognized the rhythmic beeping in the background. "What time is it?"

"So you are awake!" Whoever was speaking sounded way too happy. "Open your eyes and we'll talk some more."

Danny groaned and forced his eyelids to part, only to squeeze them shut as brightness assaulted his eyes. "Those lights necessary?"

"Marla, could you put the lights on their lowest setting? Thanks. Now try and open your eyes, Detective." He cautiously peeled his eyelids apart to see that the room was much darker. His head ached, and he was still freezing, but he could at least see a heavyset man in a lab coat staring down at him now. "Do you know where you are?"

"Yeah, some hospital. What time is it, and why is it so cold?"

"You're in the ER at Honolulu General, and it's shortly before noon. My name is Dr. Hirowa. Can you tell me your full name and the day?"

"My name is Detective Daniel Williams of Five-0 and it's Wednesday the eighteenth of June in the year 2014. Can you please warm it up some in here?"

Dr. Hirowa reached out to feel his forehead and nodded approvingly. "You've cooled down enough. We'll switch off the cooling pad. Marla, could you go-?"

"Yes, Doctor, right away." A woman in pink scrubs slipped through the door as Hirowa pulled on a cord next to Danny's hip.

"Cooling pad?" Danny raised his eyebrows. "Why did I need a cooling pad?"

"You were shut inside a poorly-ventilated warehouse for nearly an hour, and you overheated. How does your head feel?"

"Like a poor golfer teed off my right temple. Is that because of the heat?" Danny winced briefly as he struggled to make sense of what the doctor was saying. He had been locked in a warehouse…he remembered something about a warehouse, going inside, but…

"No, that would be because of the concussion. For all I know, someone could have taken a golf club to your temple. Something sure happened." Hirowa suddenly shone a penlight into Danny's eyes and grimaced as the detective moaned in pain. "You'll have to take it easy for a few days, I'm afraid. They banged you up pretty good."

"Whoa whoa whoa, back it up. I can't just take it easy for a few days, doc! I'm in the middle of a case," he complained as he tried to blink away the spots in front of his eyes.

"I think you mean _we're_ in the middle of a case." The worst of the spots cleared up just in time for Catherine to step into his field of vision. He fleetingly wished for his concussion to sweep him back into unconsciousness when he registered her tight jaw and narrowed eyes. "Don't look so surprised, Williams. You told HPD to call me, remember?"

"What? When did-"

"I'll leave you two for now, but we need to get a CAT scan to make sure there isn't anything too serious."

"Actually, Doc, I…" Hirowa merely smiled and left Danny to deal with Catherine and her ever tightening jaw. "So, I guess Nurse Marla sent you in?"

"She was actually looking for Hu, but she was on the phone and I wanted to ask you what the _hell_ you were doing at that warehouse _by yourself_."

Right, he'd gone to the warehouse where Chin Ho had been shot. 'Why' was a good question to ask, but his joggled mind wasn't quite sure. Danny closed his eyes and pressed the button to raise his bed as he tried to organize his thoughts. "Well, I got a call from an officer telling me that I needed to get down there and look at some new evidence that had come up, though I guess it probably wasn't really an HPD officer because when I got there-"

"Yeah, according to your call logs you checked your voicemail on your way to the warehouse," Catherine growled, "and you knew I was off work. What's the matter with you?!"

_Hey Danny, it's Catherine. I'm officially on leave, so I guess I'll just come to the office and meet you there. BEEP. Danny, it's Catherine again. I'm at the office and you aren't, and it's been almost an hour…just call me when you get this._

He hadn't wanted to call her. He hadn't been ready to tell her about their number one suspect. He still wasn't ready to tell her. She'd freak out when she found out about Steve… "Dammit!" he cursed loudly. His head throbbed at the noise and Catherine's sudden movement.

"Hey, what's-" Danny held up a hand to silence her as he attempted to reign in his emotions.

Steven McGarrett had knocked him unconscious and left him for dead in that godforsaken warehouse, right after their cozy little reunion. He remembered it now, remembered crying with him for several minutes and extracting himself from the SEAL's embrace. Steve had seemed so broken. And then they'd agreed to meet in private later on to discuss things, and _then_ Danny had woken up in the hospital with a concussion and heat stroke. "Damn him," he whispered murderously.

"Damn who?" asked Catherine. Crap, she was still there. This concussion was messing with Danny more than he liked. If Steve had any inkling of moderation, Danny wouldn't have a concussion at all. And he certainly wouldn't have been locked in the warehouse for who knows how long. "Is this about the guy who got away?"

"How do you…you know what, never mind. Yes, it's about the guy who gave me this concussion."

"Do you know who it is? Danny, if you had called me I would have been able to back you up and we'd have both men in custody."

"I do not need a lecture right now. Look, I'm sorry I didn't call you back, alright? I was basically already there when I got your messages and I had so much stuff on my mind that I wasn't thinking straight."

"That much is very obvious." A diminutive officer stepped into the room, her lips pursed in a smirk and her eyes like lasers. Catherine straightened at the sound of her voice, and Danny noticed her jaw tighten even further. "And because of your bumbling, a third person has died in that warehouse over the course of twenty-four hours. I hope you're proud of yourself."

"Detective Williams, meet Detective Hu." Catherine's voice was perfectly level, but Danny recognized the tone as the Naval equivalent of imminent explosion. Steve had used that tone a lot. Apparently the two women had already had a chance to speak before Danny woke up. "She got the call to go to the warehouse and has been with you since then."

"I'll need to file an official report, you see," the detective said smugly. "Why don't you just walk me through everything that happened so I can get to comparing your statement to the scene?"

"A report on what? If anything, I should be interviewing you." Danny smiled. "Any of your findings will end up with me one way or another."

Hu stopped smirking. "I'm the one who's working Homicide here, Williams. You killed a man today."

"So maybe IA should be interviewing me, but I really doubt they will. I'll just have to fill out a couple extra sheets of paper during _my_ report and that'll be that. Homicide doesn't have jurisdiction over Five-0, especially not with this case." He leaned back against his pillows and raised an eyebrow at her. "So, what have you got?"

The expression of dual outrage and confusion that crossed Hu's face told him that she hadn't been around during Five-0's previous incarnation. Her voice rose a few pitches when she spoke, confirming his theory. "There was a double murder in that warehouse yesterday! We should be on that case! _I_ should be on that case!"

"There was only one murder, actually," Catherine put in. Her voice was still scarily calm, and Danny was afraid to find out exactly what had gone down between the two women during his mini-coma. "Captain Kelly is still alive, like we discussed earlier."

Hu snorted. "For now, maybe, but he's not going to live much longer in his condition."

"Hey." Danny no longer needed to ask why Catherine had such a beef with Hu; in fact, he was starting to share that beef. "If you're done praying for the death of my friend, I'd like to ask you again what you got from the scene. Five-0 gets jurisdiction over HPD when it comes to major cases like this. A murder and the attempted murder of an officer puts it firmly in our square. The governor assigned me to this case. Catherine is helping out until I finish building my team."

Hu narrowed her eyes. "I'm going to the commissioner about this. A double murder investigation shouldn't rest on the shoulders of two haoles picked by some idiot assistant of the governor, especially when they aren't even real cops and one of our officers is dying."

"The governor himself put us on this case!" Danny said loudly as heat began to creep up into his neck. He hadn't been this furious at a fellow officer since Kaleo had gotten his former partner killed. "And for your information, I _am_ a detective. I've been a detective at HPD, even!"

"And now you're nothing but a washed up bum from New Jersey who can't even kill a guy without getting a concussion," she hissed. She turned to leave, but Catherine finally spared a glance in her direction that stopped her in her tracks. Danny was surprised it didn't burn holes in her face, too.

"You've forgotten to give Detective Williams back his phone. That's not evidence, let alone evidence that you need concern yourself with."

Hu sneered and pulled the phone from her pocket, tossing it toward the Navy Lieutenant. "I'll be back to get a full report as soon as I talk with the commissioner, so don't get too comfortable."

"No need to worry about that," he muttered as she stormed out of the room. "Boy, she's a piece of work."

"She has her eyes on Kono's job." Catherine collapsed onto the edge of Danny's bed, all traces of imminent explosion gone from her frame. She was still angry, but she also seemed sad, maybe a little scared. Danny wasn't sure what to think of that. "I heard her talking before I came in here. Apparently Kono's not very popular among her fellow officers, and Hu thinks she'll be easy pickings if Chin dies."

"So, what, she wants to be second in command to whoever takes Chin's place?" Danny asked, incredulity seeping into his voice. He couldn't imagine trying to take advantage of someone who'd been through the kind of hell Kono was living in, and he couldn't imagine why Hu was so bitter.

Catherine shook her head. "No, she just wants Kono gone. Thinks she's bad for HPD's image."

Danny glared at the door, feeling as if it had done him harm by letting him inside. "Well, I'm certainly not waiting for her to come back and tell me how bad I am for their image. I don't think even speaking to her captain's gonna put her off trying to scoop this case. I've seen people like this before; she thinks this is her big break into the cop hierarchy, and nothing is going to stop her from trying to crack it."

"Yeah, she seems pretty…enthusiastic," Catherine said. "Speaking of the case, are you ever going to read me in?"

He swallowed but met her stern gaze evenly. "As soon as we're somewhere safe."

She looked at him a moment longer before smiling wanly and standing. "I'll get Dr. Hirowa, then."

* * *

Two hours, one CAT scan, and many complaints later, Danny sat in the passenger seat of Catherine's car and rubbed his sore temple as his daughter chastised him. "…all day and night, and you didn't even call me once, Danno! And now it's going to be even longer before you come back?"

"Monkey, I'm sorry, but I'm very busy with this case right now."

"I don't care about Sang Min, Danno, I just want you to take me home." Grace sounded near tears at this point, and was apparently so loud that Catherine could hear her. She gave Danny a sympathetic glance as the light they were currently stopped at turned green. "Please, just tell them you don't want to help anymore and come get me."

He sighed, and the exhalation made his head twinge. "It's not just about Sang Min anymore. I have to do this, but I promise that I'll take another vacation as soon as this case is over and we'll spend the whole thing together, and we'll do whatever you want. I promise, Monkey."

Grace didn't respond for a moment save a loud sniffle. "Okay. I love you, Danno."

"I love you-" Grace cut off the call before he could finish his statement, and he looked at his phone sadly. "More."

"She'll be alright," Catherine said.

"How do you know? I've practically abandoned her, and she's already scared and hurt, and I'm her father, or at least I'm supposed to be."

"Exactly," she responded. "You're her father. She's your daughter. She's got your strength."

He snorted and leaned his head back, trying to tame the dizziness that had plagued him since Catherine started driving. He hoped she was wrong about Grace having his strength, because Danny Williams wasn't particularly strong. Not anymore.

"So where are we going, anyhow?" Catherine asked after several seconds of silence.

"Well, I probably shouldn't be driving my car in this condition, but I do need to grab my go bag." Danny reached into his pants' pocket, only to find them empty. "Hey, did Hu run off with my car keys too? Or did we leave them at the hospital?"

"Oh." Catherine slowed the car down at yet another red light. "Danny, your car wasn't on the scene when HPD arrived. They did, however, find the GPS chip next to the door."

Danny groaned. Steve hadn't changed a bit, always had to drive Danny's car when given even the slightest opportunity. Damn him. "I guess that's how you knew someone else was there."

"Yep. So, should we just head back to headquarters?"

"No." Danny shook his head. "It isn't safe there. Do you still have a house?"

Catherine put the car in gear and sped up once more when the light turned green. "You have a lot of explaining to do when we get there."

"I know." Closing his eyes and leaning his head back, Danny attempted to organize the thoughts that were still trickling back into his conscious.

_We need to call for help. Our friends-_

_No!_

_No what?_

_You can't tell anyone about me. Danno, please. Please don't._

Danny had been too optimistic about the return of Steve's memory. He couldn't understand that Danny was Five-0 and wouldn't arrest him, couldn't understand that their friends would do nothing but help him. The SEAL had gone into an all-out panic, swearing to run away if Danny revealed his identity. He had no doubt that if Steve found out that he'd told anyone the whole truth about the warehouse confrontation that he'd disappear again or something equally drastic.

But neither could Danny just pretend that Steve had nothing to do with the case. Kono already knew that he was one of Chin Ho's shooters. It was only a matter of time before someone else within HPD figured it out, too, and then there would be an all-out manhunt for him. And if anyone found out that he'd been hiding Steve's return, he'd be laid up right next to Chin.

"Dammit, Steve," he muttered as the car slowed to a halt once more.

"You need help getting inside?"

"No, I think I'm good." Danny finally opened his eyes, squinting against the harsh sunlight, and fumbled to open the door. When he nearly slid out sideways, Catherine grabbed his arm and held him in the car. The whole scene seemed to tilt before him, and his stomach gurgled dangerously. "Okay, maybe a little help."

"I can't believe I let you talk your doctor into releasing you." Catherine let him go long enough to run around her car and help him stand. "You're a mess, Williams. I should be helping you back to the hospital."

"And then you'd have to help fend off Hu, and neither of us want to deal with that unless I'm quite mistaken." He winced again as the ground tried to tilt even further, but somehow Catherine remained upright in spite of the strange gravitational pull he was sure was being executed. "Besides, if we go back to the hospital I'm not going to be able to explain what happened today. Would you really rather be left in the dark? Because I can arrange for that without the trip back to the hospital."

Catherine just grunted and began walking towards the house, helping him limp along behind. By the time they made it into her living room, Danny's head was throbbing and his eyes were watering, but the Earth's axis seemed to have realigned itself. He stumbled over to her couch and sank onto it, moaning as his back hit the cushions. "This is a really comfortable couch. I don't think I'm ever gonna leave."

"If you don't start talking, you'll find yourself sitting on my front lawn." Catherine sat on the other end of the couch and stared at him expectantly. "Speak, unless you think I need to sweep for bugs or something."

Danny chuckled. "No, I think that'll be saved for the office. Because the office is bugged. And we're being recorded."

"What?!"

"Yeah. That trip to the warehouse was just full of information," he said lightly.

"Who else was there?" Catherine asked loudly, jolting him from his thoughts. "And why do you believe them?"

"I'm not sure who he was," he lied easily. She raised an eyebrow. "He was definitely working for Wo Fat when he showed up there, but I'm not sure what his endgame is. I mean, he helped me out a lot. Told me that Wo Fat had eyes and ears on HQ, told me he wouldn't hurt Grace even if Wo Fat gave him a direct order to."

"And you've chosen to trust the word of someone you admit was working for Wo Fat…?"

Danny took a deep breath and exhaled. "He also shot and killed his partner, Catherine, just to make sure I didn't bite the bullet instead. He's just tangled up in a mess he doesn't want to be in, and he's willing to play a dangerous game to get out of it." _Not to mention he's my best friend and partner._

"Wait, you mean you didn't-"

"Kill that guy? Nope." Danny held up his hand to the side of his head like a gun. "He had his gun right here. Right on my temple. My savior also had his gun trained on me, but out of nowhere he turned his gun on his partner and bang. Right through the forehead."

She stared at him with large, confused eyes. "How'd you get the concussion? Why were you locked in that warehouse for so long? If he's on our side, why did he do that to you?"

"We'd arranged for him to rough me up a little and take off, so he could play it off to Wo Fat that he got overpowered and he could continue spying for us. I guess he got a little overenthusiastic."

"You should have called in backup and had him take you straight to Wo Fat!" Catherine shouted. Danny winced again as she leaped to her feet and began to pace, waving her arms like a madwoman. "We could have taken care of that monster once and for all, you idiot!"

"Whoa, easy!" he said loudly. "There's a reason he's spying instead of just leading us straight to Wo Fat."

"It had better be a good one!" Catherine turned to him expectantly, and as he rolled his eyes at her furious expression a glint from across the street caught his eye.

"What the…duck!"

"Huh?" Danny threw himself off the couch and into Catherine, tackling her into the floor and jostling his aching head as the window above them shattered.

A car door slammed and tires screeched before Danny shifted off of Catherine, moaning when the room spun. "Oh, geez, my head…"

"You okay?" she asked quietly.

He didn't answer as his eyes fell on the hole that had just appeared in the wall of her living room.

* * *

A/N: Aloha! Thanks so much for all the watches and faves over the past week, my friends! I greatly appreciate it.

Mahalo to Forest Rose for beta reading and to all of ya'll for your continued support! I'll see you next week!


	3. Kono 1

Kono needed the ocean. Needed it badly. Her soul cried for it as she climbed the stairs in HQ.

Some people fled to their family and friends when times got hard. Others found their peace in a glass of whiskey or a bottle of beer. Most of Kono's family and friends had deserted her and those who hadn't were hard at work saving Chin's life or trying to track down the monster that tried to take it. Drinking just made her sadder.

No, Kono Kalakaua needed the ocean. She needed to feel the sting of its brine against her face. Inhale its taste. Cut through it on her board.

Maybe if she surfed long enough, she could forget that her tears were something other than saltwater. It had always worked before.

They'd finally moved Chin Ho to ICU around ten. Malia had barely had time to promise Kono that she'd call at the first sign of change before Kono was run off by her own family. Kono didn't share the doctor's optimism that her cousin would pull through. After all, he wasn't strong enough to have surgery, and the risk for sepsis was growing by the minute.

But he wasn't dead yet. His kidneys were failing, his heart rate and oxygen levels were ridiculously low, his fever was spiking, but he wasn't dead yet.

And somehow, knowing that he was living in that sort of pain made it all harder.

"God, Chin," she said quietly. "Why you gotta do this to us?"

She looked at her phone and once again contemplated calling Danny. He'd want an update on the whole situation and since she wasn't with Chin she really should have been working, but the idea of talking to Danny right then made her feel sick. She wouldn't be an asset to Five-0 in her condition. She'd probably make everything worse.

She'd picked up a ride to headquarters with one of Chin's friends who'd stopped by for an update. The office was eerie in its emptiness. No folders, no photographs, not even a lamp graced any of the offices. All of the wastebaskets were unlined. The silence seemed somehow louder than her footsteps echoing off the glass, and she shivered as she approached the computer.

When the screens came back to life, the 9-1-1 call from earlier began playing once more. "Please help, there's an officer down! Chin Ho Kelly, Captain Chin Ho Kelly! I shot him, I shot-" Kono closed the program before her boss's voice could continue to declare his atrocities. Her body shook again, but it wasn't from the creepiness of the empty office.

Steve McGarrett was working for Wo Fat. She didn't know why, she didn't quite understand how, but there was no denying it as truth: her boss was working for the man who had once been his nemesis, and through the course of his work he had shot Chin Ho.

He sounded so scared on that 9-1-1 tape. Scared of being caught, maybe. What else would he be afraid of? McGarrett was a SEAL. He was a cop. He could handle anything anyone threw at him, but he had to know that by killing Chin Ho he'd sealed his fate as a wanted man. Had he even hesitated when pulling the trigger? Probably not. Steve never hesitated with his finger on the trigger.

"Maybe this is all a part of Wo Fat's head games," she mused aloud. Her voice echoed in the office, making it come alive. "Maybe Steve wasn't supposed to kill Chin Ho in the first place. Maybe that's why he's so upset on the tape. That explains why he'd call for help."

She leaned against the desktop and rubbed a hand over her eyes. God, she hadn't slept in what seemed like weeks. Not since Sunday night after Danny's welcome home dinner. Had that only been three nights ago? Everyone had seemed so happy: Grace and Kamekona were laughing, Danny was complaining, Malia and Chin Ho had been cuddling and giggling like schoolchildren…

"I can't do this now," Kono said aloud. "I need the water."

* * *

Kono's quest for a wave was not unmarred by complications.

It was nearly two-thirty, and apparently nobody on the island had opted to stay inside. Every beach she stopped at was completely packed with people, even the lesser-known ones. Even if she'd been able to find a place for her stuff, she'd never be able to catch a wave.

Besides, she needed to be alone almost as much as she needed to be in the water.

Four times she drove to McGarrett's house, and three times she drove right past it, refusing to turn onto the property. The old house seemed darker than it had two days ago, somehow turned evil by its owner's actions.

Unfortunately, habits were difficult to break, and Kono had been surfing behind McGarrett's house nearly every Wednesday for two and a half years. On her fourth trip, she pulled in and got out of the car. No one else was there, and it wasn't like that stretch of beach had done anything to her. The sand hadn't lain in wait for Chin Ho. The shells hadn't aimed a gun at him. The surf hadn't pulled the trigger.

She picked up her board and suit and walked around the house. The familiar sights calmed her, but even her favored turf as late couldn't diminish her anger towards Wo Fat and McGarrett. Especially McGarrett.

Like every Wednesday, she looked to the patio furniture. It was in remarkably good shape for having been abandoned over two years before, leading her to suspect that someone had taken on the load of caring for the old place in its owner's absence. She supposed that even the barbeque would work perfectly, provided she uncover it and replace the fuel. The idea, which had become some strange comfort to her over the years, made her feel sick.

But the ocean was practically screaming her name at this point. She stripped down and left her clothes on the edge of the patio after slipping into her bikini, just like she always did. No one was around to see her. No one was ever around here anymore.

The moment she caught her first wave of the day her spirits soared. Nothing mattered but the feeling of her feet on the board and the ocean spray in her face. Nothing was wrong in her world. She was fifteen again, a champion, a pro. She was in control. She was free.

Her high dissipated as her ride came to an end, and the dread that crept back into her system seemed even worse than before. Chin Ho was dying, McGarrett was responsible, Adam was practically dead, and her whole life was out of control. Taking a deep breath and ignoring her shaking hands, she paddled back out to catch another wave.

Champion surfer. Dying cousin. Ocean spray. Traitor boss. Surfboard. Comatose lover. Over and over, her emotions bounced between ecstasy and misery. She was an addict whose fixes worked and wore off within seconds.

Eventually, her legs wobbled and she took a dive from her board. The water became her cocoon, and she took a moment to just be Kono. No expectations. No cares. No joys. No sorrows. Just a woman, floating in a peaceful oblivion. The currents brushed against her, coaxing her into relaxation.

A childish wish interrupted her meditation: how lovely it would be to just stay under the water, like a mermaid. To live in the ocean forever and leave behind all thoughts of guns and work and death and betrayal. But to leave those behind meant leaving behind the love and friendships and life she had developed. She wasn't sure she could do that.

And Kono's very human lungs couldn't breathe underwater, anyhow. They began to burn with the need for oxygen as her adult mind mused the pros and cons of her childish wish.

She broke the surface at long last, swam to grab her board, and headed back to shore.

Her gun was within reach before she noticed the movement in the house. Without hesitation, she grabbed it and dashed to the back door, slipped the key out from the lip of the potted plant and let herself in. Hoarse grumbles emanated from the front of the house as she ducked into the kitchen, but by the time she was near enough to make out the words they ceased.

Kono pressed herself against the kitchen wall and peered around the corner into the living room. A figure with oversized clothes and a gun tucked into one pocket stood in the middle of the room, facing McGarrett's collection of framed photos with a limp posture. Jeans dragged the floor, a strip of once-white cloth acted as a belt, and long hair brushed narrow shoulders, but a bushy collection of facial hair suggested she was watching a man. It didn't matter. She'd made a career of taking out bigger targets.

"Don't move," she said loudly. The man stiffened at her voice. "Raise your hands and turn around, now." He didn't move. "Now, or I'll shoot!" A moment later, he chuckled and jumped around before leaping towards her. Her reflexes were dulled by her lack of sleep and his fist made contact with her elbow, forcing her to drop the gun. His other hand came up to hit her face, but her adrenaline kicked in and she ducked the attack, grabbing for his gun. He sidestepped her and hit her between the shoulder blades, but she only collapsed momentarily before grabbing his ankles and pulling him to the floor as well. His gun skittered out of his pocket and across the floor as his body fell with a thud.

She took advantage of his winded state and jumped onto his chest, pulling a fist back to hit him. Gray eyes stopped her in her tracks, and suddenly she was the one who felt winded. The mysterious man in ill-fitting clothing was none other than Steven McGarrett.

Like she suspected was the case with Chin Ho, her former boss showed no mercy on her. He rolled them over and placed his hands around her neck, ready to squeeze the life out of her. She scrabbled at his face, trying to find some skin to grab onto or puncture, but his waxy dermis was so tightly stretched that she couldn't find a hold. She couldn't reach his eyes to gouge them, and her attempts to force his arms up were unsuccessful.

Yet he did not apply pressure to her neck.

"Do I know you?"

She fell flat, startled. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I feel like I know you. And not just from the pictures." His eyes narrowed and his teeth gnashed in frustration. The expression belonged to McGarrett. The rotting, gap-filled mouth did not. "Who are you?"

"Don't play this game with me!" she shouted, all of her previous fury rising to boiling levels and spilling out of her every pore. "You know who I am, just like you knew Chin Ho when you shot him!"

He blinked at her curiously, innocently, as if he wasn't sitting on her with his hands clasped around her neck. "I know him?" Before she could scream at him again, he growled and raised one hand to grip his head. "Why can't I remember?!"

She gripped his left arm and pushed with all her might, but he didn't seem to notice. "Get off of me!"

"Not until you tell me who you are," he muttered through his hand. He finally relinquished his hold on her throat, but even his emaciated body was too much weight for her to throw off from his position. "I know I've seen you before somewhere, but it's like it's just out of reach or something."

"Yeah right," she snarled. He rubbed his eyes and peered down at her. Those eyes weren't the teasing ones she remembered from his playful moments, and they weren't the murderous ones from his interrogation state. She'd never seen those eyes so confused, and something about the expression made her even more furious. "Kono Kalakaua."

He just looked at her. "What's that?"

What's that. What's _that_.

He didn't even recognize her name as a name. Over a year, she'd worked for him, and he didn't even recognize that her name was a name. They'd broken laws together, risked their lives for one another, and he had absolutely no idea that she had ever existed.

A dam gave way somewhere inside her, and all of her pent-up emotions gushed from her soul with a vengeance. Sang Min trying to kidnap Grace before being shot. Chin Ho being shot and nearly dying. Steve being on the 9-1-1 tape and at his house. The torture chamber set up in the middle of her turf. Her family banning her from Chin's room. Those damned wilted flowers in Adam's hospital room and that damned barbeque on Steve's patio.

She heard a loud, keening noise from somewhere, and Steve grimaced at it. It took several moments for her to realize that the cry was emanating from her own mouth, and several more for her to stop it coming. Her soul continued to scream inside as tears began to stream down her cheeks. Steve furrowed his brow and touched one of her cheeks, examining the damp trails. "Why are you crying?"

"You really don't remember, Steve," she whispered.

"You know me?" He narrowed his eyes. "You know Danny, don't you?"

"Wait, Danny? You remem-"

"He told you about me, didn't he?!" Steve suddenly became furious. "He told you that I shot Captain Kelly!"

"No, we figured that out together," she said slowly. Her tears began to slow as she narrowed her eyes. "Are you saying you've seen Danny?"

"I have to go," he said, and before she could do more than blink his weight had disappeared from her torso and he was at the door. He spared one second to glance back at her before walking through the front door. She scrambled to her feet in time to see a silver Camaro tearing out of the driveway, and her stomach made a weird flipping motion. That was Danny's rental.

She should have called it in and had the entire island on Steve's tail. A cop killer running around in the stolen car of another cop? She doubted he'd even make it to the precinct without being killed in some accident or another. No one would be punished for failing to safely escort him. Not really.

And that was exactly why Kono couldn't bring herself to call dispatch. Steve's bemused expression at her tears was burned onto her corneas. He had looked so innocently confused, even when his hands were wrapped around his neck.

She was furious at McGarrett, yes, but the encounter had still broken her heart in an entirely new way.

Instead of dashing to her phone, she grabbed a plastic bag from Steve's kitchen—it still had his last grocery receipt inside it—and picked up the gun he'd left behind before grabbing her own and leaving through the back. She threw on her jeans and tank without bothering to change out of her bikini, picked up the rest of her belongings, and jogged back to her car.

Her phone began to vibrate insistently the moment she turned on her car. The screen announced Danny as the caller, and she answered it with all the propriety she could manage for him. "You're an asshole, Williams."

"Hello to you, too," he replied. "First things first, how's Chin?"

"His chances weren't good this morning when my family finally kicked me out," she spat. "What the hell is the matter with you?!"

"Pretty major concussion, bruising, a minor case of heat stroke," he said calmly. She leaned her head back and sighed. "I heard that, which probably means that you weren't referring to my physical symptoms."

"No, but that might explain why you didn't arrest McGarrett on the spot when you came across him."

Danny spluttered into the phone. "I-I don't know what you're-"

"Save it, Danny," she spat. "I'm sitting in his driveway right now. He was just here, we fought, he asked me what a 'Kono Kalakaua' was, he got mad when he thought you had told on him, and then he drove off in your car." Danny groaned and cursed into the phone. That pretty much summed up her feelings on the whole situation, too. "We need to meet up and discuss this."

"Yeah, well, we've got some other stuff to discuss too. Catherine and I just barely missed a bullet aimed into her living room."

"What?! Are you both okay?"

"She's fine, but my head is hurting even worse than before." He grunted. "Just get down here. Catherine's disappeared into a room into her house that I'm not allowed into, and from the sounds of things she's taking stock of a stash of weaponry that might rival SuperSEAL's work locker."

"I'll be there as quickly as I can," she said and hung up the phone. She had been fighting off her old, apparently-amnesiac boss while her friends were being shot at and her partner-cousin was dying.

This day wasn't going to go down as one of her best.

* * *

A/N: Aloha! I'm so sorry this is late; life got all up in my grill and I wasn't able to get this written/beta'd until ridiculously late, so here we are on Thursday morning instead of Wednesday.

Mahalo to Forest Rose for doing such an excellent beta job and to all of you for being amazing readers and supporters. You're all splendid.


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